Transitioning From The Gym Treadmill To The Road. How To Find Your Correct Running Or Jogging Pace

Run at a pace where you are slightly out of breath but could easily continue on talking to a friend running next to you.

Listening to music on your first few runs isn’t recommended as you need to be fully aware of how you’re feeling. Music can give you a boost of adrenaline that could mask warnings from your body.

If you’re feeling tired, then don’t be afraid to slow down at any point.

In terms of pace, having a Garmin Forerunner or other GPS watch (or even an iPhone with the Runkeeper application) comes in extremely handy. It gives you a good reference as to what pace constitutes an easy or hard speed for you at your current level.

When I first started running, an easy pace was 10:30 min/mile, my normal pace 10:00 min/mile and my fast pace 9:30/mile. A 10 min/mile is considered by many to be a respectable pace for a beginner but if you’re a little overweight don’t be afraid to adjust your pace downwards. You can increase it once you’re ready.

If a 10:00 min/mile is too easy, then try 9:00 min/mile or faster. Ultimately you’ll know what feels right.

If you don’t have access to an iPhone or a GPS watch, then you can measure out the distance of your running route on Google Maps. Take a stopwatch with you and see how long it takes to run the course and with those figures you can easily devise your pace.

Remember it can take a while to find and keep to your perfect pace. As you run more, you will notice that what once constituted a hard pace, is now an easy one. You can then make the natural transition to running faster.

If you’re training for a marathon for the first time, it’s better to be conservative with your pace and liberal with the miles, until you have safely found your feet!